


The sun is the width

by imladrissun



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2019-08-25 07:38:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16656970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imladrissun/pseuds/imladrissun
Summary: Post-hideout Kevin and Jake are affected by what happened.





	1. Chapter 1

After their ill-fated trip the library, and their ultimate rescue by Kevin, Jake was happy that the whole situation had turned out okay. Kevin and the Captain seemed to be doing well again, and everyone was safe. He'd put the dvd of Captain Corelli's Mandolin in Kevin's university mailbox though, underneath all the papers students were cramming in there. 

It was stupid, but he did feel a little bad that he'd accidentally prevented some happiness that Kevin could have had during that time. He dropped off the movie while doing some other errands, so no one was the wiser. Kevin didn't seem like someone who wanted the world to know everything about him, so he didn't mention it to the group; not even Holt. A few days later, he got a letter. In the mail, it was a real one; they still existed, apparently. 

It was addressed to him, and was the only piece of mail he'd gotten in days [Amy had already cross-catalogued and set up autopay for all their bills and joint expenses], so he opened it just to see what it was. He should have known from the squiggly lines on the return address label [must be ancient Greek or cuneiform or something] and the use of 'Jacob' on the front that it was from the only college professor he knew personally. 

The letter was weird, concise and erudite; it also thanked him for the film. Kevin was surprisingly kind in the sentences, all handwritten with ink--probably a quill or fountain pen, Jake thought. Something hard to write with. Except for Gina, Kevin had really stayed away from everyone at the precinct. He wasn't interested, so the letter was unexpected.

Some people didn't like cops from the get go, and Kevin was one of them. Jake understood why people felt that way, of course, but coming from Kevin it had been a little bit not what he thought would happen after all this time. He'd assumed that after he met them all, saw what a team they were and how they supported Holt, that he would change his mind and want to be one of the group. Even in some kind of plus one capacity. But he never had. 

Jake didn't hide the letter, he just wanted to put it in a safe place. He hadn't expected Kevin to ever reach out like this, especially so personally. It was kind of moving, almost, to know he'd taken the time to write that all out to him. He even invited him to the Greek group's movie night, which apparently was a big deal due to new requirements on the sororities and fraternities [it more was community service, popped collars and preppiness than partying now, it seemed.] Kevin had even noted that his 'presence as both an off-duty officer and a potential mentor to the youth in search of direction [in terms of work especially]' would be welcomed if he chose to go. 

Jake had never thought of himself as inspiring anyone, not even himself. His favorite movies had always driven him to be better, to succeed, to keep going. He didn't get misty-eyed after reading the letter, but he was happy Amy would be busy all night at the latest puzz-hang. Amy had a different relationship to praise than him; she got it. Jake was more the begrudgingly given approval recipient in most situations. Anyway, she always did everything right, so he couldn't imagine why she loved to be told about it so much. When Jake was praised it was more like motivational and undeserved, her praise was the icing on a cake of competence. Which he loved, of course. It was a great cake. And she deserved it.

This was some icing for him, and it was sweet. 

Where Holt seemed to feel sorry for him once in a while, Kevin was the true robot, comparatively. He was able to be quite icy when he wanted, so basically Jake didn't know how to respond to it. Or even if he should. Was showing up at the movie thing the best move? Or was a plus-one implied; should he bring Amy, and would she murder him for not telling her/inviting her, etc?

He didn't know. He broke out some poptarts ['smores' flavor, he's not a heathen for goodness sake], and booted up some video games to play with Doug Judy. Thankfully, they only had text interaction instead of headsets to protect his untraceableness/freedom, so his frenemy wouldn't notice the confusion in his voice. It was easier to mask in words. 

Judy still noticed. That man was so good at reading people sometimes. Jake sipped a can of Surge and tried to think of how to explain it away.


	2. Chapter 2

He told Doug Judy he had just gotten a call about work stuff and logged off. Thankfully, they didn't text outside of the game so he was free of any more questions. He had to go the college thing, he realized. He felt like he owed Kevin that somehow, and all he'd done was make it worse by enabling him with the library trip. He could have died, or Holt could have. What was a stupid college event compared to that?

It was actually very esoteric--new word for the year, he thought. People were actually speaking to each other in what he was pretty sure were ancient languages. Everyone was wearing crazy outfits to the event, some he recognized [togas with red stripes] and some he didn't [a lot of crimped cloth dresses.] It was all weird, but kind of neat. And they had snacks, so he was kind of excited until he realized the snacks were more up Charles' alley than his. They had little dark pancakes with dates, and a whole table of seafood. It was a squid lover's delight.

The only squid he liked was the kraken, so he was good. "Jacob," he heard, and spun around. Kevin was wearing a kind of toga but it suited him. Really all the people here looked pretty good in their strange outfits. He was the only one dressed in regular clothes.... it was like being a time traveler.

"There is honey for your ova sfongia ex lacte," he continued. At Jake's blank look he continued. "That is the term for the pancake you're eating."

"Oh, cool," Jake said, looking down at it. It didn't look like it warranted such a long name, but who knows what was in it. He found it best not to ask in cases like this. You never got an answer you liked; at least from Charles you didn't.

"I hope you enjoy the film," Kevin added in his dry way, but it felt like he was being nice. 

Jake nodded. "Thanks. I didn't realize there was a dress code," he tried to joke, but Kevin shook his head. "It isn't necessary for you to bothered with that. They are being judged on their raiment, not you."

"Yeah, totes," he agreed, not quite sure but kind of getting it. 

"The film is going to start in a moment; there is punch instead of wine because of the age group here," Kevin explained. "The professors sit in the back of the room, but you may as well." He followed him to the punch station, and got some -- it was like a pre-modern Hawaiian punch, not sweet enough though -- and then sat next to him in the back. 

The movie started and the lights dimmed. Everyone was just as silent as their fancy costumes had implied they were going to be. It was definitely Kevin's scene. The film was okay; mostly fighting between gods and people yelling at/or for them all the time. Sometimes people fought with spears or swords, and there were some chariots. He could see why they liked it; all the characters got really emotional about winning and losing. 

At the end of it, they all got up to leave, and he kind of felt bereft. But this was for people who appeared to literally speak ancient Greek fluently, so wasn't it weird for him to be there? He slipped out without saying goodbye; Kevin was talking to a student and the odd-one-out feeling finally got to him. Thankfully Amy was working later than him, so he went home alone and tried to go to sleep. He ended up googling the names of the people with the chariots.


End file.
